Observant
by Canadino
Summary: In which Rio is a fanboy for Kazuki and Junta. Kazu/Junta


**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the story idea and only some of the witty remarks. I own so little; so please don't steal.**

Background music: -

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Rio is a very good watcher. The prime reason is because he's a catcher and catchers are supposed to be good watchers. Flying balls and whatnot. His secondary reason is that no one pays much attention to him anyways, so what else can he do but watch? His _brother_ is really the hotshot baseball player and everyone looks at him. His brother doesn't even look at him – not being scouted by Bijou _hurt_ – but it's not like Rio blames him. He's not that much to look at.

So he settles for watching other people, and in his endeavors, Rio's noticed something unusual.

He thinks maybe Kazuki and Junta may be going out.

At first, Rio isn't sure, just like everyone else isn't sure, but after a while, it's hard _not_ to see it.

He first sees it when Kazu goes up to the mound during practice once and brings the ball with him. And Kazu puts the ball into Junta's hand and his fingers linger there and Junta – sweet, stupid Junta – is slightly pink in the face. After he is done, Kazu walks back and Junta pitches the same like always but Rio knows he's seen something – he doesn't know _what_, but _something_ – and he looks harder from then on.

Everything is purely in context with them, from Junta helping his catcher into his gear or Kazu jokingly offering to watch Junta's back in the showers, but everyone calls them out on it in jest, they are the battery – battery, battery, _battery_ – until sometimes Rio thinks the entire team ships the two without even knowing it. To be honest, Rio thinks he ships them too, they are good together, look good together, and he might be a fanboy for them.

Sometimes Rio thinks _that _may be the reason no one looks at him.

Rio joins them to witness one of Haruna's epic pitches one) because he wants to see it for himself after hearing all the stories, and two) because _someone_ needs to keep an eye on the idiot lovebirds. Since Haruna decides to be boring, he listens to the two banter and analyze and wonders if each word is a double entendre, like if _batting average_ stands for _how many times they've done it in the clubhouse_ or something (oh, _gross_, he's really got to stop thinking things like that). They add him in but he doesn't feel like being the third wheel – which he is – and settles for empty threats, which he genuinely regrets. Kazu is the paper to Junta's glue and he isn't normally a malicious person at all. He calls them a married couple and he can see it: Junta in a pink, frilly apron with ladle in hand, welcoming Kazu home with a kiss and…

He has a career outside of baseball, it seems.

When the game is done, Kazu orders, "Get our bikes, first year!" and Rio dutifully follows because it's in his place in the high school hierarchy. He's a little surprised to be fetching three bikes (somehow, his head canon says Junta rides with Kazu on the same bike) but he wheels them all over anyway. It takes him a little while to get them across the lot, and they _must_ know this, because when they come into view again, they are locked at the lips in the small, deserted place Rio left them. Rio fullstops, he is that surprised – and he should have known better than to leave them alone. When they break away and Kazu takes a step back, Rio makes a loud, big entrance, knocking the bikes together and making a big fuss.

"Your bikes, botcchans," he announces sarcastically, thinking they must have been through things like this before because they receive their bikes with nonchalance. Kazu gets his gear on his bike wordlessly while Junta laughs and teases, _finally you've learned your place, Rio-chan_. Rio thinks if Kazu did not already have dibs, he might have gobbled Junta up for himself. It's only a passing thought.

They live near each other so they take a different way from Rio. They bid him farewell at the crossroads and walk away, bikes next to each other. Rio watches them for a moment before riding away.

Owari

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Note: I really wanted my first Oofuri fanfic to be about Abe/Mihashi, but I guess that will have to wait. This came about at work and was drafted on six different receipts. I'm becoming quite the fangirl for this stupid series. Oh god. Thanks for reading!


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